Weekly Winners – Into the Holidays Edition

weeklywinners1

All taken w/ Canon Rebel XTi.
For week 11/21-11/27/10

Very late today – I actually almost didn’t post, but I decided to go ahead and post!

Perfect Sunrise
*It led into a stormy day (Red sky in the morning-sailors take warning)…but it was GORGEOUS.
Perfect Sunrise

Giggling at Mommy & her Camera
Giggling at Mommy

Thankful for #1
Thanks for 1

Thankful for #2
Thanks for 2

Thankful for #3
Thanks for 3

Earliest Remembered Ornament
Earliest Memory

Slippered Memory
Slippered Memory

Shimmer
Shimmer

Up a Tree
Up a Tree

Branching Out
Branching Out

That’s all for this week. Head on over to Lotus‘ digs to see more!!

Confession of a Mom

I’m almost too late for my post for today, so this is quick and silly.

Confessions of things I’m certainly guilty of after almost 13 years of a Mom.

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1) I always thought Steve from Blues Clues was hot…even before he left and shaved his head.

2) I hate Mary Poppins with a deep passion. Ever since Brandon was obsessed with it and I was forced to watch it over and over for weeks on end…and came to realize she is a pompous, self-righteous, snobby bitch.

3) I actually enjoy iCarly and Victorious. They make me giggle.  Big Time Rush – not so much.

4) I used to use the TV to babysit Brandon. He would come into my room at 5AM on the weekends, I’d flip on the cartoons and go back to sleep. What can I say…the kid NEVER slept!!

5) I hate Spongebob almost as much as Mary Poppins. ‘Nuff said.

6) I haven’t taken any of my kids to a movie since Riley was an infant. I don’t trust them to sit through one. So all movies wait for video.

7) One of my favorite all-time movies is Lion King.

8) I miss the earliest days of Blues Clues before Dora and Diego and Max and Ruby tainted the waters.

9) I am actually physically disgusted by the Diego episode with the Iguana and the strawberries. You know the one…

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There could be more, but I was distracted by Avatar and now MUST post this before midnight or I mess up my NaBlo!!!

Other Worlds, so real to me…

A couple of weeks ago when I asked you to ask me questions – my father in law piped up on facebook to ask me to answer how I came to love writing.

The answer is rooted in a long ago memory and a love of books.

I rarely remember nightmares.  Maybe for a day or two, but so few actually stick with me.

For all of my 30+ years, I remember my very first nightmare.

I was still in a crib when I had it. I think I was two and a half at most.  I woke up screaming.

Because in my dream I had torn my favorite book. Bongo.

I still remember the nightmare. I still remember the horror I felt over seeing my favorite book shredded in my crib. I treasured that book.

My dad to this day jokes that I was reading the Reader’s Digest cover to cover when I was three.  He wasn’t far off, and it was about that age that I stole my first set of Little House books from my brother’s bookshelf (why in heaven he had them, I have no idea).

Eventually in middle school I got to the teenage angsty poetry phase which morphed into a stunning enjoyment of my English classes and writing. I loved the challenge of taking an assignment and doing something outside of the box. Then a college Creative Writing Course and then nothing.

For quite a few years I didn’t write.

A few years ago I wrote a story just for fun. I got some encouragement and eventually turned into something almost sell-able. Almost, because I’m still learning.

But I’m loving learning. Writing. Creating. Watching my characters come alive on the page. For about six months out of the year writing is what I spend a lot of time on. Sometimes to my husband’s chagrin because I’m up until all hours being driven by my characters to tell their story.

It’s exciting.

Reading. Writing.

Finding other worlds to live in. The past, the future, an alternate universe.  An escape from the normal of everyday. The sometimes good, sometimes bad, always REAL world we live in.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I hope your plates are full, and your bellies fuller.  Enjoy every moment with family and friends!!

Remember the good times, before they’re forgotten.

Embrace your family, for too soon today will become the past, a memory to laugh over.  An old photograph that you’re trying to place. A forgotten memory surfacing amidst laughter and tears.

A letter, found in a hope chest. A photo album in the back of a closet. An old family movie dug out from long stored boxes.

Hold onto today. Savor each moment.

Be thankful for the now.

Before the now’s are gone.

I am blessed…

I posted this last year. As tomorrow is Thanksgiving, I thought it was appropriate to post again.

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In the morning when you rise
I bless the sun, I bless the skies
I bless your lips, I bless your eyes
My blessing goes with you

In the nighttime when you sleep
Oh I bless you while a watch I keep
As you lie in slumber deep
My blessing goes with you

This is my prayer for you
There for you, ever true
Each, every day for you
In everything you do

And when you come to me
And hold me close to you
I bless you
And you bless me, too

When your weary heart is tired
If the world would leave you uninspired
When nothing more of love’s desired
My blessing goes with you


When the storms of life are strong
When you’re wounded, when you don’t belong
When you no longer hear my song
My blessing goes with you

This is my prayer for you
There for you, ever true
Each, every day for you
In everything you do

And when you come to me
And hold me close to you
I bless you
And you bless me, too

I bless you
And you bless me, too

~Celtic Woman – The Blessing

Vacation Day

Bliss

This is my vacation day from NaBlo. So this is my official post today. Will be back tomorrow.